Oct 6 (Reuters) - Global healthcare firms have announced a wave of US investments, committing billions of dollars to expand manufacturing and research operations as they prepare for a shifting trade environment under the Trump administration.
Drugmakers including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Roche have announced roughly $500 billion in US investments as they seek to strengthen infrastructure, mitigate supply-chain risks and reassure investors.
Pfizer
Pfizer reached a deal with President Donald
Trump last year to invest $70 billion in research and development and domestic manufacturing, and received a three-year grace period exempting its products from the pharmaceutical-targeted tariffs.
GSK
The London-based drugmaker plans to invest $30 billion in US research and development and supply chain infrastructure over five years.
Eli Lilly
US President Donald Trump said in January that Eli Lilly plans to build six plants in the United States.
Lilly said last year that it planned to spend at least $27 billion to build four US plants to expand production and bolster medical supply chains. The company has since announced details on three plants, in Alabama, Virginia and Texas.
Lilly in January said it will build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, its fourth new site.
Johnson & Johnson
The drugmaker plans to raise US investments by 25%, totaling $55 billion, over the next four years. It plans to build four plants, including one in Wilson, North Carolina, and another at Tokyo-based Fujifilm Biotechnologies' manufacturing site in Holly Springs, North Carolina, over the next 10 years.
The company said in June it has invested about $1 billion in Jacksonville, Florida, to strengthen US-based manufacturing for its eye care business. The new facility is expected to be fully operational in 2028, J&J said.
Roche
The Swiss drugmaker said in April last year it would invest $50 billion in the US over the next five years.
A month later, it announced an additional $550 million investment to expand its Indianapolis diagnostics manufacturing hub. The expansion will span Indiana, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and California, creating more than 12,000 jobs.
In January, Roche said it will more than double its investment in its drug manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, to about $2 billion, up from the over $700 million announced in May 2025.
AstraZeneca
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker will invest $50 billion in US manufacturing by 2030. The investment will fund a new drug substance facility in Virginia, its largest single-site global investment, alongside expansions in Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Indiana and Texas.
It has already started technology transfers and is managing inventory in 2025 to minimize any tariff hit. Company executives have said the impact would be "very short-lived."
AstraZeneca said it will spend more than $1 billion in Massachusetts as part of its broader $50 billion US investment plan, a move expected to expand its workforce in the state by more than 50% in the coming years.
Novartis
The Swiss drugmaker plans to spend $23 billion to build and expand 10 facilities in the US over the next five years. This includes building six new manufacturing plants and expanding its San Diego research and development site, which is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.
Sanofi
The French drugmaker plans to invest at least $20 billion in the US through 2030 to boost manufacturing and research. Sanofi plans to expand its US manufacturing capacity through direct investments in the company's sites and partnerships with other domestic manufacturers.
Chief Financial Officer François Roger said in July the potential tariffs are expected to have a limited impact in 2025, as the company already has inventory in place in the US.
Biogen
The US drugmaker will invest $2 billion more in its existing manufacturing plants in North Carolina, adding capacity for gene-targeting therapies and automation. The company has eight factories in the state.
Merck
The US drugmaker has begun building a $3 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Virginia as part of its over $70 billion investment to expand domestic manufacturing and research and development.
It will also invest $1 billion in a new Delaware plant to make biologics and cancer drug Keytruda, to boost US production and potentially create over 4,500 jobs. It also opened a $1 billion facility at its North Carolina site in March.
Merck's animal health unit will invest $895 million to expand its Kansas manufacturing and R&D site, part of a broader $9 billion US investment through 2028.
CEO Robert Davis in July flagged minimal impact from potential tariffs in 2025, and that the company remained well-positioned due to inventory management and moving of manufacturing to the US.
Amgen
The US-based biopharma firm plans to invest $900 million to expand its Ohio manufacturing facility, bringing total investment in the state to $1.4 billion and adding 750 jobs. In December, the company committed $1 billion to build a second facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina.
Amgen said in September it is investing more than $600 million to build a new research and development center at its headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California.
The drugmaker announced it will invest $650 million to expand drug manufacturing at its facility in Juncos, Puerto Rico, a move expected to create nearly 750 jobs.
Amgen said it would invest an additional $300 million in its US manufacturing network, expanding its biologics facility in Puerto Rico and supporting hundreds of construction jobs.
Novo Nordisk
The Danish pharmaceutical company said in August its strong US manufacturing footprint positions it well for tariff challenges, describing itself as "very US-centric and US-focused".
AbbVie
The US drugmaker said in January it has committed $100 billion over the next decade to US-based research and development as part of its three-year deal with the Trump administration to reduce drug prices.
It has 11 manufacturing sites in the US and has said it is "fairly insulated" from any tariff impact this year, given inventory management actions.
The company said in February that it plans to invest $380 million to build two manufacturing facilities at its current North Chicago, Illinois, campus, to support the production of its neuroscience and obesity medications.
Gilead Sciences
Earlier this year, the drugmaker announced $11 billion in new planned investment in the US to add to its domestic manufacturing and research heft, taking its total pledged investment to $32 billion.
Gilead said in September that it started work on a pharmaceutical development and manufacturing hub at its headquarters in Foster City, California, in addition to which, it is currently developing two other sites.
Bristol Myers Squibb
The drugmaker said it would invest about $2.3 billion to build a new drug manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, creating nearly 500 skilled jobs and about 2,000 construction-related jobs, as part of its broader $40 billion US investment commitment.
Cipla
The Indian drugmaker is expanding its US manufacturing footprint by investing in capacity expansion for complex respiratory products at its advanced facilities in Fall River, Massachusetts, and Central Islip, New York.
CSL
Australia's CSL said in November it would invest $1.5 billion in the US to manufacture plasma-derived therapies, expanding its footprint in the country over the next five years.
In March, the company announced the expansion of its plasma therapy manufacturing facility in Kankakee, Illinois, which is expected to be operational by 2031.
Becton Dickinson
Drug delivery device maker Becton Dickinson said it plans to invest $19 billion in the US over several years, including $3 billion to expand domestic manufacturing, as part of an agreement with the US government aimed at strengthening the supply of essential medical products.
The agreement gives BD relief from future Section 232 tariffs on covered products and inputs, making it the first major medical device company to secure such a benefit through a domestic manufacturing commitment, subject to final tariff rules and agreed milestones.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole, Kamal Choudhury, Puyaan Singh, Sneha S K, Sahil Pandey, Mariam Sunny and Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid, Sahal Muhammed, Shinjini Ganguli and Maju Samuel)
